Deutsche Bank expects to launch its first digital-asset custody service in Germany within weeks and plans to take the platform into Asian financial centers in 2027. Gerald Podobnik, co-head of its Corporate Bank, gave the updated timetable to Reuters in an interview published October 16. The service has not yet been confirmed live. The bank's September announcement made its first client onboarding subject to completion of the applicable regulatory process, a condition that remains important to the schedule.

What the first phase would do

The initial offering is intended for eligible corporate and institutional clients, not retail customers. Deutsche Bank says it would hold digital assets and manage wallets and private keys on clients' behalf, while allowing transfers to third parties. Its published launch plan names Bitcoin and Ether alongside selected stablecoins or e-money tokens, including USDC, EURC and EURAU. Asset availability could still change through product approvals, risk checks and regulatory requirements. Custody is distinct from an exchange service: the announcement does not say the bank will offer retail crypto trading.

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For clients such as asset managers, brokers and corporate treasuries, the attraction is a familiar regulated counterparty for safeguarding keys and administering transfers. The bank describes hardware-based key protection, separated responsibilities, multi-person approvals, warm and cold storage, and backup arrangements. Those controls aim to reduce operational risks but do not remove price volatility, fraud or counterparty failures. Deutsche Bank also warns that crypto-assets do not carry deposit-guarantee protection comparable to eligible bank deposits.

Asia comes after Germany

Podobnik told Reuters the bank intends to expand the custody platform into Asian financial centers next year, after the German debut. He did not identify the countries, regulators or prospective first clients in the interview. An Asia plan therefore should not be read as approval to serve the whole region, or as a commitment that all markets will open at once. Cross-border client eligibility, local rules and technical readiness will determine the actual footprint.

The October comments sharpen a plan Deutsche Bank had disclosed on September 16. At that time it said the European service would go live this year, subject to the regulatory timeline. Its product page describes a Germany base with cross-border European servicing under applicable rules, but also says availability depends on regulatory completion and technical readiness. The new interview provides a nearer expected German launch window and a first indication of the intended Asian expansion year; neither amounts to a notice that customers have been onboarded.

A broader digital-money roadmap

Reuters reported that the rollout would begin with custody of major cryptocurrencies, then broaden to services helping clients move money into and out of mainstream stablecoins. Podobnik also described ambitions for tokenized deposits and support for issuing blockchain-based securities such as digital bonds. These are future services, not features confirmed for the initial launch. They would require different operational arrangements and may face separate approvals or client-demand tests.

Podobnik linked the initiative to growth in digital forms of value and the bank's wider corporate-banking ambitions. For the market, the significant test is execution rather than the announced roadmap: a confirmed launch date, regulatory status, named Asian jurisdictions, supported assets and evidence of client use. Until Deutsche Bank supplies those details, the October 16 interview establishes a revised expectation and expansion intent, not a completed custody rollout or a guaranteed 2027 regional launch.

Sources

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